Check

That one's off the list. (thought it was on the list, must have been the other list in my head) Finished my first Century bike ride on Saturday. It was the H.O.T. 100 starting in Lascassas. Me and the guys had been talking about it for quite awhile. Just never really seems to win out over running. This year the bike won. G committed before me, so I had to go ahead and sign up as well.

Hot topic on the running forums is always the accuracy of GPS devices. Someone is always finishing a 5k race and their GPS measures a different distance. Lots of factors, that I won't even talk about. Only thing I know is the bike odometer seems to be more accurate. We rode 102.5 miles according to my bike odometer and 100.9 miles according to my Garmin 305. Probably right in the ball park of the accuracy claims made by Garmin. The number that I'm more concerned with is the average pace, in this case 18.3 mph average on the bike odometer versus 18.1 mph on the Garmin 305. Not big, but G's difference was staggering. He only showed 17.6 mph avg, yet he beat me home by 5 minutes. Only difference being his Garmin 305 was on his wrist, versus me mounting mine on my bike.

Rest stops or feed zones, whatever you want to call them were placed just about the right spots along the course. One in Readyville, we went by twice, one after the first big climb on top of the ridge, and the last one in Statesville about 23 miles from the finish. Lots to eat, oranges, cantaloupes, watermelons, grapes, peanut butter and jelly sandwich's, Oreo's, peanuts, bananas, ice, water and Heed. One new thing for me was a cracker with peanut butter, a slice of banana and a drizzle of honey. Yummy. Pretty similar to the spread for an Ultra. The last stop is the one where we dilly dallied. I sat down took off my shoes and drank an entire bottle of ice cold water.

Sag support was awesome. The boys, (mine) both asked what is the SAG wagon? I had my answer, but really thought it must be some kind of acronym (Support and Gear) or something. This is one of the explanations I found on the interwebs. This ride had lots of support, at least 2 vehicles making trips up and back each 20 mile or section. I saw them in action on at least one flat and another mechanical. Plus, we saw two of them in action when they came back and picked up J, one of G's tri buddies.

This course has two climbs of significance, Petty Gap and Dolittle. We've been up Petty Gap before. G rode up it the first time in his big ring. Not as much gas this time, must be the heat. Last time it was in the 60's this time at least mid 70's, maybe warmer. Dolittle was a long climb and it was about 60 miles into the ride. We had a truck that  wouldn't go around us the entire way up the hill. Annoying as hell. I stopped at almost the top to let him go by and then stopped again at the summit to wait on J. Only waited for about a minute and then rode on. G had passed me on the hill, thankfully he waited for me at the real top of the hill.

One thing for certain a Century is easier than a marathon. Least if you take your time and dilly dally around at the rest stops, don't hammer the hills and coast the down hills. First rest stop, I had to wait on the guys. I'd started out slow, but DT went flying by so I latched on for a couple of miles. After one mile hot mile at around 28 mph I thought I'd better slow down and let that train fly on without me.

New respect for the tri-athletes. I can't imagine hammering through 100+ miles and then running a marathon. Perhaps the swim cools them off enough that the heat from the bike and run is welcome. NOT. Saw a couple of runners starting out as we finished our ride. No thanks, no triathalons for me. Guess the ulitmate all around stud has to be the decathlete. Saw a picture of Bruce Jenner on a Wheaties box from 1976 last week.

My quads were pretty sore for the rest of the day, and I was a little bit tired but not as drained as a marathon. Did a 10 mile run this morning and surprisingly felt really strong. But, it was overcast and cooler, even rained for the last quarter mile. Enough bike for the time being, I'll keep it in the rotation for cross training but time to get serious for a half marathon in October and the Monkey in November.

Satisfying sweat

"Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach."
Dr. George A. Sheehan, runner, writer, philosopher


Woke up this morning and decided today was the day to test out the foot. I've been putting it off for the last week or so. It's been fifty days, since I've run. I'm hesitant to start back running, first because of re-injury and the long build up, but mostly because the bike is getting comfortable. I can see why some who take up the bike during a injury, never go back to the run. Tempting but the bike doesn't give the same quick feed back or sense of satisfaction as a good run.

This morning was warm and humid, probably low 60's. The sun was just rising, great day for a run. I'd slept in a extra hour, to take a day off from the bike. Might as well squeeze out a quick 2 mile run. The body was rusty from not running. Very conscious of the injured foot, but other body parts and muscles took awhile to warm up. Funny how quickly a good sweat builds up, even at a very slow pace. The bike doesn't seem to deliver in that regard.

Now comes the tough part. Easing back into the running. Day off tomorrow, back on the bike. Resist the urge to go run with the guys for a easy run. The comeback runs are never easy. Seems the buildup is longer every time. More importantly, this time the run is going to take the back seat to the bike. Short runs and lots of days off. I still plan to get the Century checked off the bucket list.

I did notice the quads seem to really complain about the hills on the bike. Didn't really notice until I was stretching this morning after my slog. They were a bit sore the day after Saturdays long bike ride, but it's been three days. Perhaps I need to do some kind of stretching at least after the long bike rides. More miles on the bike really pay off quickly. My average pace is inching upward, the hills aren't as tough.

Porkin' up

Hard to believe I've put on eight pounds since I stopped running. Wouldn't be able to tell if you looked, but it's all right around my middle. Must be the classic beer belly. The weight routine and bike are enough to keep everything toned up, but probably the only thing that will melt the fat from the belly are some ab crunches. Ab workouts have never really stuck with me. Like the yoga poses. I know its good stuff, but I can never make it a routine. At least the hard training while running keeps the weight off.

100 miles on the bike

 = Century

Decided this is the year to cross the Century off my bucket list. Might as well work towards something while I'm not running. The bike always takes the backseat to the run when I'm injury free. Only found a couple of local Centuries and they just aren't the right time. (HOT 100) Ideally it would be the first week in July. That gives me enough time to prepare and hopefully I'll be running by then anyway. Most of the HOT 100 route is roads we normally train, so hopefully I'll get a couple of the guys to ride along for a portion of the ride, if not all of it. I'll just need to scout out any stores along the route for refueling or start at the cross road section which would cut the route into a 34 mile section and 66 mile section.

Preparing for a Century should be easier than a marathon. The long bike ride is 30 miles for the first week and adds 5 or so miles each week. Piece of cake. The time to do the long rides is the biggest negative. Great blog post here about your first century. Couple of things I'd taken for granted.

Bucket List

Saw this on Naresh's blog and really liked his bucket list. I like the way he adds another item as one is checked off. Just as I figured lots on the interwebs about bucket lists. Basically a short list of things you'd like to do before you "kick the bucket". May help to think of them in categories: travel, adventure, helping others and self improvement. Nice blog entry here for the top 20.

Researching other lists, I discovered I've already done quite a bit that others have on their list. Makes sense that your list will be ever evolving depending on where you are in your life cycle. I'm currently in excellent health and "cough, cough", middle aged.

Some of the things, I've taken for granted but have already accomplished.

Travel: Germany, Berlin (before the wall fell and on the east side), Spain, Holland, France, Paris, Louvre, Notre Dame, Mexico, Bahamas', Grand Cayman Island, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, beaches

Adventure: run a 5k, 10k, 50k, Boston Marathon, half marathon

Two lists with probably one item on just about everyone's list.

"Seven man-made wonders of the world"

1. Machu Picchu, Peru
2. The Colisseum in Rome
3. Petra, Jordan
4. Christ Redeemer, Brazil
5. The Great Wall of China
6. Chichen Itza, Mexico
7. The Taj Mahal, India

"Seven natural wonders of the world"

1. Grand Canyon
2. The Great Barrier Reef
3. The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro
4. Mt. Everest
5. Northern Lights
6. Paricutin Volcano
7. Victoria Falls


My list
Africa, safari and Victoria Falls
Great Wall of China
Grand Canyon
New York, the city
Alaska
50 mile trail run somewhere out west in the mountains
deep sea fishing
stay healthy
clean up the Stones River Greenway


And when I do kick the bucket, cremation with the ashes scattered on the trails in Percy Warner Park.